


Legend's Journey

by EsriteIatha



Category: Star Wars: Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
Genre: FIx It, Gen, I mean it!, Luke Is A Good Uncle, This Is One Huge Spoiler!, spoiler - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-03 22:35:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 19,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13350930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EsriteIatha/pseuds/EsriteIatha
Summary: SPOILER!!!This is one huge SPOILER!!!Luke has a second chance. He is thrown back into his twenty-nine years old self's mind and he relives the story.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> SPOILER!!! SPOILER!!! SPOILER!!!
> 
> Sorry for the mistakes. I needed to get this story out of me. This is the only way I could cope.

He crawled onto the stone slab and stared ahead. Simple things. The beautiful sunset, his staggering breaths, the pain in his limbs, the warm presence of Leia in the back of his mind, several planets away, but still holding on. That was his whole world. After such a long time, he felt ...peaceful.

 

The sky shifted and the second sun’s light joined the blaze that had become Ahch-To’s horizon. The familiar heat warmed up his aching body. One last smile formed on his lips, then finally after so many painful years, he let go.

 

***

 

His eyes snapped open. Something was wrong. His mind felt … full. It felt like if the knowledge of another life had been stuffed into his head. He groaned and shut his eyes tightly. He needed those images to stop swirling around so madly. Just stop!

 

“Luke!” a firm female voice cut through the hurricane. Somehow it stopped. The chaos settled. However, his brain felt exhausted. He couldn’t even form a thought properly.

 

He dared to blink his eyes open. His wife – his beautiful, still living wife – stared down at him worriedly. Her golden-red hair was still dripping, a heavenly blessing on his way too hot face.

 

“What happened? What’s wrong?” she asked. She looked like she wanted to hit something. That was bad. When she looked like that, she usually hit something.

 

“I’m fine!” that came out wrong. His voice sounded funny.

 

“You are not fine!” she hissed. “Artoo! Call 2-1-B!”

 

Everything would have been so much easier if his head didn’t hurt so much, but he had no luck in that Galaxy.

 

“Stop!” he might have shouted. At that point, he couldn’t be that sure. However, Artoo’s shriek did reach his ears. Silence followed his outburst.

 

“Luke. You need to calm down.” This time Mara’s voice was shooting. “You have to release Artoo.”

 

Luke turned his head and for the first time since that chaos had started, he assessed his situation. He was laying on the bed of his old flat. Old? Not old. He only owned it for three years. Artoo was levitating in the middle of the room. Its dome was turning from side to side, while tiny pathetic little whines escaped its little body. Luke forced his mind to release his friend and he carefully lowered the droid onto the ground. Artoo whistled a disapproval and rolled away sulking.

 

Luke sighed and turned back to his wife. Mara sat next to him on the bed. She was clad only in his bathrobe. He raised his left hand and poked at the fabric.

“That’s mine.”

 

“Luke! Explain!”

 

Good one. First, he should understand himself, no? But he didn’t understand. Therefore he couldn’t explain.

 

Mara cocked her head to the side. Her green eyes searched his. Imagining the thoughts that were running past those two orbs helped to shoot his aching head.

 

“Show me,” she ordered.

 

That sounded sensible. Only, something stirred inside his chaotic mind. Something that ordered him to throw the idea right out of the window. Then it came to him. Her revelation the night before. The tiny life that was growing inside her. Their little miracle.

 

“No!” he said firmly.

 

He could see in her eyes that she understood. Not that understanding the danger ever prevented her from doing something stupid. She reached out her hand towards his forehead, but he batted it away.

 

She rolled her eyes at his stubbornness.

 

“You won’t hurt us!” she huffed. “But not knowing what this is might.”

 

She was smart. He had to admit that. Manipulative too, but he was not perfect either.

 

“Low blow,” he mumbled. The sentence felt very familiar. The image of Artoo projecting Leia’s desperate message to Ben came to the surface, then it disappeared.

 

He took her hand and allowed her to reach into his mind. Their bond came to life the same vivid way it had done the first time. They both let out equal gasps as the new thing in his mind clicked into place. The sad story of a tragic life played out in front of them. When it ended, their bond fell away and they found themselves back in the apartment laying on the bed face to face. Mara had an incredible wide-eyed, shocked expression on her face. He most likely had the same. At least the pressure on his mind had eased.

 

“So, I manage to throw the Galaxy into a horrible peril and die as a bitter fifty-three years old.” he summarized.

 

Mara pushed herself up the beginning of her temper clear on her face. Although, it lost some of its edge as she needed to steady herself on his chest for a second or two. He didn’t move, just watched her.

 

“This was not you!” she waved her hand angrily. “This was just a warning!”

 

“It was real,” he answered quietly. Because it was. Now, that his bond with Mara had put things into order inside his skull, he knew that it was real. He wouldn’t have been able to explain how he knew or how it was possible to live a life, then after death get the chance to start again from a certain point, but that was exactly what had happened.

 

Mara visibly tried to understand. Her usually guarded face showed so many emotions. Mostly negative though.

 

“It can’t be.” she shook her head.

 

“What? You can’t imagine me as a bitter old man?” he asked back. He rose to sitting position too.

 

“I can’t imagine you ever consider killing your nephew!” she shot back.

 

Well, he hadn’t either, but seemingly it didn’t matter what they thought. Somewhere deep inside of him, another man nodded along mournfully.

 

“There must be an explanation!” She argued. She jumped to her feet and she started pacing.

 

He had something.

 

“You were dead.”

 

That made her stop and look at him. In that … another set of memories?… she had gone on a mission for Karrde, pregnant just like now. She hadn’t come back. Someone had shot her in the back. Her assailant had never been found.

 

“That’s not an explanation,” Mara said gently. Her hand brushed against her stomach.

 

“I’ve lost you both.” he stood and approached her. “Maybe,” he took her hands into his. “It was too much. Force knows, I’m not perfect. There was always a potential for the Dark Side in me too.”

 

“Just like Ben.” She murmured. “But can’t you see? This is why it’s not possible. You know what it is like. More so, than Leia. That knowledge and your love for your family helped you turn Darth Vader back. That is why you would never do such a thing. That ability to forgive and guide is your legacy!”

 

He sighed and lowered his head onto her shoulder. Her hand found its way into his hair.

 

“I hate that I actually have a legacy.” he murmured.

 

“Too bad.” he heard the grin in her voice. “There is nothing you can do against it!”

 

“So, what now?” he asked. To his own ears, he sounded small and desperate for guidance. He hated to carry the whole Galaxy on his shoulders.

 

“Now we prepare.” she made him straighten himself and look into her eyes. A soldier looked back at him. A soldier who was preparing for war. “We are blessed. You blessed us with a warning. Now we save the Galaxy and your nephew.”

 

“And our child.”

 

She smiled her prettiest smile back at him. “And our child.”

 

Another child came to his mind. A girl, holding his old lightsaber out to him. She had been young in the memory. She didn’t exist yet, but he promised silently to himself to watch out for her. After all, if they fail, the Galaxy would land on her shoulders.

 

***

  
He had one whole day to get used to the another set of life in his head. They had spent the whole night preparing with Mara. They wrote down dates, events and they tried to find a pattern. They needed to find every tiny happening that would lead to the destruction of the Galaxy. Surfing through the alien memories eventually chased him into a migraine and Mara stuffed him full with painkillers, then ordered him to bed. At least she joined him too.

 

But it was not just the memories. He was certain that he got the whole spirit of his other self. Feelings and thoughts appeared in his mind from time to time. He didn’t know how to feel about these new set of traits that mixed with his own. However, he did know how he felt about that new level of sarcasm he had suddenly reached. He had the tendency to shot back certain replies time to time, but now… This truly was a whole new level. His wife wasn’t impressed either. Mara had actually thrown a plate at him after one comment that had managed to slip out during lunch.

 

The next day, Leia and her family returned from their two weeks long vacation on Corellia. Well, it was a vacation for Ben, Han and Chewie. Leia had gone there for a political mission. Luke and Mara waited for them at the landing bay. Luke had raised mental shields around his bond with Leia and Ben. He really wasn’t ready to share that dark future with them. Most likely never with Ben.

 

The ramp of the Falcon lowered and a tiny black and blue blur flew towards them.

 

“Uncle Luke! Look! Look! Look what I’ve got!” Ben’s tiny voice filled the docking bay.

 

He noted with relief that he didn’t feel any resentment towards the five years old child who was jumping up and down in front of him with a toy B-wing in his tiny hands. Rather, he felt even more protective.

 

“Wow!” he accepted the tiny toy that Ben shoved into his hands. “This is truly a masterpiece!”

 

“I’ll fly one when I’ll be bigger!” Ben announced proudly.

 

“Aw! And what about the X-wings?” Luke pouted.

 

“I like this more.”

 

“Now, I’m hurt.” but he ruffled the child’s hair to show he was just playing around. He handed back the toy and Ben turned to Mara showing it off to her too.

 

“Wow, kid! You look awful!”

 

Luke glared at his brother in law. “Thanks, Han! I really appreciate the praise!”

 

It was so hard to mask his relief. He was so glad to see the former smuggler after remembering not even feeling his death because he had apparently cut himself off the Force. Stop thinking about that! He chided himself.

 

“You do look pale, Luke.” Leia studied his face as she stepped closer to him. He ignored the statement and pulled her into a hug.

 

“How did it go?” Luke asked referring to her job on Corellia.

 

“Needed more negotiations than I originally expected, but it went well. Mothma will be happy.” She pulled away from him and held up a finger. “I hope you both up for this evening's party. It is important! Several ambassadors are coming from the Outer Rim. They’d like to meet you.”

 

Luke and Mara gave her equal grimaces, but she happily ignored them. She took Ben’s hand and led the little family away from the ship. Han made a grimace at her back that was very familiar to the other pair’s. Luke hid a grin behind his hand. He felt really nostalgic. As he watched his family march through the corridors of the huge apartment building and as he felt Mara’s hand in his own, he felt even more motivated to keep them all safe from the man, who would ruin their life.

 

***

 

“Are you ready?” he heard Mara’s voice coming from the fresher.

 

He adjusted his jacket. “Yep!”

 

She walked into the room, still fiddling with her earing and froze. Her eyes ran up and down on him growing bigger and bigger every second.

 

“Why aren’t you dressed?” her voice sounded dangerously low.

 

He looked down at himself with a frown and held out his arms.

 

“Well, I’m not naked!” he shot back.

 

“This is a black-tie event!”

 

He was wearing his usual black uniform. Black was an elegant color, right? His clothes would go perfectly with Mara’s red dress. Her stomach was still flat and she was dead-set on enjoying those few days she had before she started showing. The silky fabric showed off her perfect body in such a smart way that it was still appropriate and elegant. Next to her, he could be as plain as he wanted. He was sure of that.

 

“Why aren’t you wearing that jacket I bought for you?” she asked as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

 

“Because it’s way too fancy and uncomfortable!” he definitely wasn’t whining, but he was not getting into that thing that Mara called jacket.

 

“What? You think this is comfortable?” she motioned at her own dress.

 

He cocked his head to the side. “It isn’t?”

 

“Get into that kriffing jacket!” she growled threateningly.

 

He didn’t give in because she was scary or anything. After all, he had dared to propose to her, there was nothing to fear. He gave in because he didn’t want to stress her out too badly. He had to think about their little, secret miracle after all.

 

***

  
Leia could do whatever she wanted, he would never like black-tie events. His second set of memories had confirmed that hypothesis. This time there was another factor that complicated things. Mara couldn’t drink and everyone was offering her champagne. She took them with a polite smile, then when no one was looking she handed them to Luke, who drank them quickly. Their only luck was that his body metabolized alcohol really fast. Probably because of his Force-sensitivity.

 

They were forced to endure several political talks with ambassadors, senators and other politicians politely.

 

“Would it be impolite to mask our presence for the rest of the night?” he groaned as they finally managed to sit down in a dark corner.

 

“You are the one who usually preaches about the unnecessary use of the Force,” she growled. She sipped her ocritaya juice. She made the serving droid pour it into a fancy glass, so she could lie that it was a cocktail if anyone asked.

 

Han walked up to them and threw himself down into another chair next to Luke.

 

“I’d really want to be Chewie right now. He gets to be with Ben, while I’m suffering here.” He complained. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He pointed a finger at Luke without even looking at him. “By the way, your sister is looking for you. She wants to introduce you to a guy.”

 

“To who?” Luke asked back with a frown. A sudden sense of déjà vu overtook his mind. He searched his memories. Both of them. However, he couldn’t figure out why that moment was so important that he suddenly felt alert.

 

“Dunno, some guy.” Han shrugged. “Apparently he is big fan of you. Poor guy has the ugliest face I’ve ever seen. Badly disfigured. Gives me the creeps.”

 

Luke caught Mara’s eyes. Her face said that badly disfigured doesn’t mean anything, which he knew, but he had learned to trust his instincts way back then and he wouldn’t start doubting them now.

 

“Where is she?” he stood. This got Han’s attention. He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at him.

 

“What’s going on?” he asked back. He followed Mara’s example who stood up ready to follow Luke.

 

“Probably nothing, but I have to see this guy,” the Jedi replied. He already turned and his eyes scanned the huge hall of the Hanna City Opera House. There were too many people there. He couldn’t find Leia. He impatiently sent out a nudge through their bond. She nudged back playfully with a promise of meeting up with him in a minute.

 

He stood impatiently at the edge of the partying crowd of politicians. Then aliens and humans formed a tiny path and suddenly Leia was there in front of him.

 

“Here you are, Luke!”

 

He didn’t hear what she said though. His eyes found the face he didn’t want to see ever. The disfigured alien smiled at him. Blue eyes searched his face hungrily.

 

“Jedi Skywalker! What an honor to meet you after all these years.” The alien spoke.

 

With a sudden cold clarity, Luke understood what was happening. That was the moment where he had truly failed… or would fail Ben. If it wasn’t for the knowledge that uproared in him, he wouldn’t even know what was happening. The darkness that was brushing against his mind like… tentacles were so careful that he barely felt them. He only felt them, because he knew they were there.

 

“Let me introduce myself,” the alien continued.

 

Luke slammed his shields forcefully against the probing tentacles. He would not allow them to poison his mind this time. No one turns him against the people he cares about.

 

The alien took a startled step back.

 

“I know who you are, Snoke,” Luke said slowly. His voice was cold and quiet. It froze the room.

 

“Luke?” Leia sounded uncertain. Maybe the first time in her entire life.

 

“I know, who you are just like how I know what the First Order is.” Luke continued.

 

He didn’t notice, but the music had stopped. Just like the happy murmur of the crowd. Everyone was staring at them. It was not his words, that stilled the room, but the tense vibration of the Force, which surrounded the two Force-user. The non-Force-sensitives didn’t even understand the situation, they just sensed the challenge between the two strong spirits in the room.

 

Snoke met Luke’s eyes straight on.

 

“Your reputation has reached even the Unknown Regions, Skywalker.” the alien spoke with confidence, that Luke thought he shouldn’t be feeling. The Jedi had concluded that he had come for a silent situation assessment, which Luke outright ruined. In that case, why wasn’t Snoke more disturbed?

 

“However, I have to admit, that I underestimated your abilities.” Snoke continued. “Now I understand why Darth Sidious was so afraid of you.”

 

Han shifted in Luke’s peripheral vision, then he let out a silent curse. He had probably reached for his blaster. However, the party’s policy didn’t allow any weapons. Even Luke’s lightsaber had been locked away by an apologetic security personnel. Not that it mattered. Luke didn’t know much about Snoke, but he was certain that using a lightsaber wasn’t his method of fighting.

 

Security, armed with their service blasters, entered the hall. The fact that inside they froze and looked around uncertainly showed that they had reacted to something, like an instinct, but not consciously.

 

Luke tapped into his bond with Mara. _Get everyone out of here!_ He ordered. Her trust in him showed in her speed of reacting.

 

“Out! Everyone out!” she shouted.

 

Snoke growled. That probably went against his plan. It also confirmed Luke’s theory that Snoke had based his escape plan on Luke’s instinct to protect the bystanders. Luke felt the alien’s attack as a shift in the Force. Snoke didn’t have a target in mind, he released a destructive bubble of energy. Luke countered by pulling the Light Side around the alien as a shield. The air crackled, where the two type of energy strained against the other. Glass shattered around them, a female screamed somewhere. The crowd finally understood and swarmed for the exits. Leia hesitated the longest, but luckily Han understood, which fight was whose to fight and dragged her out.

 

Snoke was alarmingly strong. Luke felt something warm drip onto his lips. He didn’t need to taste it to know what it was.

 

_It was quite an event meeting you, Skywalker!_

 

Luke snarled. Hearing Snoke’s voice in his head meant, that keeping up with the alien took more out of him, than what he originally thought and his hold on his mental shields was slipping.

 

The ring on Snoke’s finger suddenly flashed with dark energy and the power that Luke tried to contain flared up. Luke’s control slipped. He only got time to pull the Light Side towards him to form his own bubble, then the hall erupted into a roaring chaos.

 

The building came down on the top of them.

 

***

 

He wasn’t aware how the rubble moved out of his way as he clawed to the surface or how the members of the rescue team jumped back in shock when he emerged from the ruins. He wiped his face with his forearm and zeroed on a face.

 

“Snoke? Did he get out?” he didn’t sound nice, he was sure of that. More like an angry rancor.

 

The young twi’lek girl in the ridiculously colored protection gear stuttered in her wide-eyed shock.

 

“Jedi Skywalker! I have to take you to the med-center!”

 

“Did. He. Get. Out?” He growled every word. The younger girl gaped at him, but despite her evident shock, she still managed to get a supporting hand on his arm.

 

“Luke!”

 

Mara was still in her pretty red dress as she raced towards him (an amazing achievement in her high heels). Her face though was a mess. Her makeup had been smudged and the dust of the collapsing building settled on her face and hair.

 

The twi’lek let out a relieved sigh at the sight of her.

 

Mara rushed to him and grabbed his free arm.

 

“Luke you-“

 

“We have to make sure that Snoke didn’t get away!” he cut her off.

 

Leia and Han were suddenly there too. He couldn’t understand in his state why no one was doing what he demanded. They somehow managed to get him into a medical shuttle. It must had something to do with Han’s physical strength and Luke’s lack of it at the moment. They bullied him onto a stretcher, then they let a med-droid loose on him. _But_ and _Snoke_ were the only words he managed to get out between the droid’s questions and probing. He didn’t even see the hypospray, but he felt the effect of the drug when it cut him off the world.

 

***

 

He slept for eighteen hours. He hadn’t been injured, but 2-1-B had been concerned about his nose bleeding that hadn’t wanted to stop. Two hours after he had woken up from his drug-induced sleep, he signed himself out of the med-center.

 

Mara caught up with him at the ruins of the Opera House. She didn’t look impressed. However, he couldn’t care about who was or wasn’t impressed by him. As it turned out Snoke had escaped somehow. He had circled around the ruins like a mad vulture, but he couldn’t find any clue, which would have helped him out. When his overexerted body started trembling, Mara, who had been a glaring shadow of his, became proactive and forced him home.

 

However, once he was in the building, he made a beeline to the apartment opposite of them. Leia wanted to throttle him, while Han just facepalmed himself. Ben was playing in his room, so Luke sat down in the living room and tried to explain why Ben’s mind needed to be shielded by him and Leia, without actually telling the pair that he was aware of another timeline, where their son ended up as a Dark Lord thanks to Snoke.

 

“Why would he target Ben?” Han asked back incredulously.

 

“Because of power,” Mara spoke up. “This is exactly the same as it was with Luke and Palpatine. Snoke probably knows that he can’t get Luke's powers, but Ben is from the same bloodline and he is still a child. Unfortunately, he is the perfect target for him.”

 

“And Ben has equal potential for the Light Side and the Dark,” Leia added quietly. Three pairs of eyes turned towards her, but she chose her brother’s blue ones to hold. “I’ve felt it when I was pregnant with him.”

 

“What?” Han gaped at her. “Why didn’t you say anything to me?”

 

“This part of his life is my responsibility!” she shot back.

 

“Because I’m not Force-sensitive?” Han narrowed his eyes.

 

“Enough!” Luke put end to the argument with as much authority as he could muster. By that time, he felt horrible, his premature departure from the med-center takin its toll on him. It had to be written on his face because Han and Leia apologized. However, he knew that once he was out of the apartment, the argument would continue. With the parents’ permission, he put a mental shield around Ben’s mind and he promised to teach the technique to Leia, then Mara dragged him home.

 

The next day the Senate held a meeting. He knew that they expected an explanation and he wanted to apologize for the destruction of the Opera House. He told the politicians, that he had received a warning through the Force, but first, he’d wanted to look into it. However, Snoke’s sudden appearance had forced him into action and yes, he was very sorry for what had happened with that ancient building.

 

He expected an uproar, suspicion and blame. However, he would have never expected what happened in reality. He had been thanked and praised.

 

Then his worst nightmare had come true. He had been called a Legend.

 

He suddenly felt very small and the weight on his shoulders had doubled.

 

***

 

The day had come, when Karrde asked Mara to go on that certain mission. She agreed to do it. They both knew that only refusing it wouldn’t save her. That way they would know when to expect the attack and prevent it.

 

Luke understood this but didn’t like it.   


He followed his wife on the mission. Of course, he had to change his appearance. It was actually scary how unrecognizable he could become with black hair, brown eyes and a little stubble (Yes, Han! He can grow a beard if he wants to! Thank you very much!).

 

The attack came on their fifth day on Lothal, in daylight, in the middle of a busy street. Luke blocked the blaster bolt with his lightsaber, then chased after the attacker. It took only three clever leaps of him and he jumped the assassin. The would-be killer was a twenty years old boy, who kept shouting things that sounded dangerously like a propaganda for the First Order as the local police took him away.

 

That night they were both woken rudely by a persistent, thundering knocking on the door of their hotel room. It was an officer, who told them that the boy had been murdered in his prison cell.

 

They stayed up for the rest of the night.

 

***

They had kept Mara’s pregnancy a secret through the first trimester. Only Artoo and 2-1-B knew about it. There had been no attack on her since the incident in Lothal, but they kept their eyes open. However, their next crisis didn’t come in the form of an attack or Snoke, it had come in the form of a blood test. She had too much of one of the proteins in her blood and 2-1-B called them back for more tests.

 

Luke was a nervous wreck during the scan. Mara teased him about it, but under the sarcastic and playful façade, Luke could see how terrified she truly was.

 

“Just as I thought,” 2-1-B said suddenly.

 

“What?” Luke snapped, so not Jedi like.

 

“It’s not that uncommon that this tendency runs in a family.” 2-1-B nodded again as he switched the scanner off.

 

“What runs in the family and whose family?” it was Mara’s turn to growl.

 

“Definitely the Skywalker family.” 2-1-B offered. Luke felt the heat of Mara’s glare on his face, but he was clueless.

 

“What runs in my family? Is the baby okay?” he asked.

 

“Babies.” 2-1-B corrected him. Two pairs of stunned eyes stared at him, so he continued. “Congratulation! You have twins. They are both healthy so far.”

 

The droid left them alone. Luke sank down onto the bed next to Mara and they both stared ahead.

 

“Twins?” his wife asked with wonder.  


Luke couldn’t help but snort. “Figures, that Leia gets the normal pregnancy.”

 

Their laughter was slightly hysteric. But then they looked at each other and smiled brightly.

 

“We’ll have twins!” they chorused.

 

“So, what’ll we do?” Mara asked.

 

“I have no kriffing idea!”

 

***

 

They told Han and Leia in the end.

 

The mood had been tense around the Solo family since Leia’s and Han’s argument. The former smuggler spent more nights on his ship than next to his wife. Luke feared that he would take off one day. Chewie worried a lot too.

 

So, Mara and Luke asked them to come over to their apartment. As soon as the trio sat down opposite the pair, Mara said the magic words.

 

“I’m pregnant.”

 

The silence was as stunned as it had been when he had heard that sentence for the first time.

 

“You are going to have a child?” Leia asked back. A smile was tugging the corner of her lips upwards.

 

“Children.” Luke corrected her. “Twins. Apparently, it runs in the family.”

 

Chewie roared loudly and jumped forward. He gathered the two Force-sensitives into each arm and hauled the yelping pair up into a tight Wookiee hug. That was followed by even more hugs, congratulations and laughter. Han and Leia promised that they’d keep it a secret.

 

As Luke was trying to escape another Wookiee hug, he saw the way Han and Leia shared a look. He sighed with relief. Maybe they’d be alright.

 

He shouldn’t have sighed. Chewie was hugging him so tightly that he couldn’t breathe in again.

 

***

 

Luke had turned down Mon Mothma’s offered help in reestablishing the Jedi Order.

 

“It would be really arrogant of me to think that I could properly train a dozen of Force-sensitives,” he told the Senate. His words were followed by a shocked murmur, but he stood his ground. “A trained Jedi can do lots of good, but lots of bad too. Therefore the teacher’s attention shouldn’t be split among too many students. Reestablishing the Order will take several generations.”

 

The Senate wasn’t happy, of course. What they wanted was an army of super soldiers. He couldn’t give them that. They wanted him to travel around and collect Force-sensitive kids. He outright refused to do that.

 

“Every Force-sensitive person can decide if they want to pursue their talent or not. They have the right to decide and I will respect that!” No one had considered what he had wanted back then. It had looked like, it had been his decision, but in reality, he hadn’t really had a choice. He didn’t want this to anyone else. Not even Ben and he had told this to Han and Leia. It would be Ben’s decision, end of story.

 

This time he decided to be truly an uncle to Ben and not his Jedi Master, like in the other timeline. Leia and Han were awfully busy nearly all the time. Han’s shipping company was getting more and more clients, while his racing took him from one system to the next. Leia had become one of the most important politicians of their time, which was also time-consuming. Therefore, the kid had become a frequent guest at their apartment.

 

Luke didn’t start the years-long travels of his alternate self. The new set of memories gave him a huge amount of information on the Jedi, Sith and the Force. It was really handy. Although it didn’t mean that he could actually master all those extra skills his alternate self had learned. He needed to do a hell of a lot practicing.

 

***

 

Mara had trouble with hiding her pregnancy as the weeks went by. The formally very active woman had to hide away from the eyes of the public. But soon it became clear that she wouldn’t last long between four walls. The soon to be parents sat down in front of the Galaxy's map and tried to come up with a planet, which would be the ideal birthplace for their twins. Chandrila was out of the question. It was too public. They planned to keep the twins a secret a little longer. They excluded planets after planets, but they didn’t get closer to the solution.

 

Artoo came to their rescue. The little droid dropped a hell of an information bomb on him.

 

One night as Luke was finishing his daily exercises, the little droid rolled in front of him. Then shoved him a recording, which rendered him speechless for several minutes.

 

“Was that my birth?” he asked quietly. “Was that… my mother?”

 

Artoo confirmed it with a few hesitant beeps.

 

“And you sharing this with me now?” Luke asked incredulously. He jumped to his feet and started pacing. His previous relaxed state of mind had been shot to the Nine Corellian Hells. Suddenly he stopped. This wasn’t just his birth.

 

“Come with me!”

 

“Luke? What’s wrong?” Leia asked as soon as she opened the door. Han had taken Ben to the Falcon for a father-son bonding time, so it was just the two of them and Artoo. Luke took her hand and led her to the living room. They sat down next to each other, then Luke waved at Artoo.

 

“Show her!”

 

Artoo did and the scene of their birth and their mother’s death played out in front of them.

 

“Was that?” Leia gaped at Artoo.

 

“Yes.”

 

“But, than… This was Padmé Amidala!” She waved her hands. It was a very Han like movement. “Our mother is Padmé Amidala!”

 

Luke frowned. “You know her?”

 

“Do I know her?” Leia sounded outraged. “She had been the elected Queen of Naboo. She had been a legendary politician! She had been the leading member of the Delegation of 2000! She basically started the Rebellion!” she ranted. A little silence followed her outburst, then she added quietly. “She was my role model.”

 

“You’ll have to tell me everything.” Luke smiled. Leia leaned into her brother. She promised him that she would, she just needed a little time to come to terms with this revelation. Luke got comfortable on the couch with Leia in his arms and allow a comfortable silence to cover them like a blanket. They barely had time to be just brother and sister nowadays and that moment was precious.

 

Of course, it had to be Luke, who broke it eventually.

 

“I am the older one!” He declared triumphantly.

 

“Not fair!” Leia pouted. “I should be the older one!”

 

“Sometimes it feels like it.” Luke agreed.

 

***

Luke traveled to Polis Massa alone first. The Kallidahin, who had eventually become the Polis Massans gave him a warm welcome. The Jedi had spent a week probing around on the asteroid with the Force before he finally declared the place safe for his wife and kids. The telepathic brain of the archeologist race made things easier. He told his secret to the Polis Massans’ leader and asked for his help. Once the leader found out who the two children were, that had been born in their home, he agreed immediately and swore secrecy.

 

Han and Chewie smuggled Mara off Chandrila in the middle of the night and brought her to the asteroid. Leia had given a decent lie to the Senate, which explained why the two Jedi had to leave. While Han couldn’t stay with the soon to be parents because of security reasons, Chewbacca refused to leave. He had accepted Luke into his family and that meant he would be there when the cubs arrive.

 

Mara suddenly fell sick on the first day of the 35th week of her pregnancy. GH-7, the Kallidahin’s medical droid told the panicky Luke that they have to perform a Cesarean section and get the babies out because Mara was suffering from preeclampsia. Luke stayed with his wife through the whole operation. He sat next to her head cupping her cheeks and kept their Force-bond wide open. He was happy to give her every drop of his lifeforce just to keep her and the babies safe.

 

They got lucky finally and he didn’t have to do that. GH-7 handed him two bundles. First, his baby girl, then his tiny son. Luke felt his knees go weak. Two strong Wookiee arms helped him up.

 

***

During the months of Mara’s pregnancy, they had argued a lot on baby names. Mara hadn’t had a family and Luke’s hadn’t been big enough either. Han and Leia had called dibs on Ben five years ago. Mara wouldn’t accept Anakin and they hadn’t found a fitting pair to Padmé. Eventually, they had invited Han, Leia and Chewie in the name searching game too. They had spent several nights pondering over baby names.

 

“Jacen,” Luke had said suddenly. All eyes had turned towards him. “Jacen Qe-kora,” he had added, but he couldn’t find recognition in the eyes of his family, so he had continued. “He was a friend of mine. A trooper in the Rebellion. You remember the bombing of Slitherette?”

 

Leia’s eyes had widened. “Was it him? The only one who died? Who stayed behind to keep the doors closed?”

 

Luke had nodded. He remembered how Wedge had stopped in front of him with the names of the freshly lost on a datapad. Jacen’s had been the first on that list.

 

“Jacen sounds nice,” Mara had said with a gentle smile. So unlike her usual sarcastic grins.

 

“And Jaina?” Han had offered suddenly enthusiastic.

 

“Jaina?” Luke had asked back clearly interested.

 

Han had shrugged. “It was my mother’s name.”

 

“Jaina and Jacen.” Mara had tasted the names. “I like it!”

 

“Jaina and Jacen.” Luke murmured as he sat next to his resting wife on her bed. The two babies slept in his arms peacefully.

 

“I can’t believe they are ours.” Mara sighed happily. After giving birth, with GH-7’s careful help she managed to battle down the sickness that threatened her. Her opened bond with Luke helped strengthen her up.

 

“What do we do now?” Luke asked. Maybe it was the first time in his whole life, but he felt terrified. Give him another Death Star and he’d be fine. But raising the two miracles of his life? Force help!

 

“I have no idea.” Mara breathed. “But we’ll do it amazingly!”

 

“Sure we will.”

 

***

They stayed on Polis Massa two more weeks so Mara could regain her strength and the Twins find their own. Osh Scal, the leader of the Kallidahins gave them a full wing of the Polis Massa Base so they could be undisturbed and out of the way of the archeologists. Chewbacca guarded the little family with a real Wookiee devotion. Jaina and Jacen were healthy and to their parents’ horror, really strong in the Force. The moment Luke had gotten them into his arms they had launched themselves onto his mind and their bond had been formed. He knew the same had happened with Mara too.

 

“What did you expect? They are ours.” His wife asked him.

 

“Exactly.” he breathed.

 

However, their idyll couldn’t last long. Luke’s X-wing received an emergency message from Leia. Artoo broke through the heavy encryption and brought the message to the little family. It wasn’t long.

 

“Luke! Check the HoloNet!” his twin sister’s projected head ordered him.

 

He did, but he wished he didn’t. He and his family were the news. The headline said: Luke and Mara Jade-Skywalker’s baby has been born.

 

“How?” Mara demanded. “How did they find out!”

 

“Please be assured that it didn’t happen through us.” Osh Scal had told them. “No one knew other than me and I’d never betray you, Jedi Skywalker. Just like how I never betrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

 

His mind was open to him and Luke knew he was telling the truth. Leia, Han and Chewie would rather die than give away their secret. But no one else knew.

 

Then he understood. It was so obvious.

 

“They are strong in the Force,” he said as his eyes fell onto his twins in their crib.

 

“Snoke?” Mara gapped. “But… We shielded! Palpatine didn’t know about you and Leia! We shielded damn it!” her rage woke their children up. Jaina’s loud cries filled the room, while Jacen whimpered quietly next to her. Mara rushed to their side to console them.

 

Luke paced the room. He reached for the alternate self’s memories and tried to put together the facts. “Snoke is powerful in a terrifying way. His ability of Mind Probing is so strong that I could barely resist it. If he kept an eye on us… I can see it as a possibility that he found out.” he explained. He felt suddenly cold. If he was right than he alone wouldn’t be enough. He would fail his children, Ben and the Galaxy.

 

“Luke! Enough!” Mara hissed at him. “Think about a solution. Stay in the present, not the future!” she warned him.

 

“I’m sorry,” Luke said weakly. “What do we do know?”

 

Personally, he wanted to grab his family and haul them to Ahch-To and hide. He knew that wasn’t a solution. His twins deserved better than that. Ben deserved better than that.

 

Mara didn’t reply to his question. Everyone waited for him to come up with a solution.

 

“We have to go back Chandrila and face this.” he rubbed his face. Although the news mentioned only one child, but he was not ready and frankly would never be capable of choosing between the Twins.

 

Chewbacca didn’t like the idea. His disapproving growl showed his opinion perfectly. Mara grimaced too.

 

“So, we’ll do that showing off scene from Ben’s favorite cartoon?” she raised Jacen up theatrically.

 

“No” Luke shook his head. “You’ll go with the Twins and stay with Leia and Han. I’ll go an deal with the press.”

 

“I’m hiding again?”

 

“You are protecting the Twins.” That calmed her down eventually. She had strong maternal instincts. Luke just had to think about how he’d actually defuse the whole situation.

 

***

Luke had been composing a speech in his head the whole time, while they were packing. He had to face the fact that Leia inherited every tiny drop of their mother’s political talents. He didn’t. All he got was: This is my private life, get lost! Not very diplomatic, right?

 

The Kallidahins lent him a freighter for their journey home. He was helping to load their stuff on board when the Falcon appeared in front of them from out of nowhere. Osh Scal and his men pulled out several menacing looking blasters. Luke was touched by their protective behavior, but he really liked his family in one piece, so he quickly explained the situation.

 

The ramp barely touched the ground and Leia was all but flying towards him.

 

“Where are they?” she asked, while she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I want to see them!”

 

“Come with me!”  


Leia had been accompanied by Han and Ben. Luke led them inside to their wing, where Mara was dressing their babies.

 

“They are so beautiful!” Leia breathed as she leaned over the crib. Two pairs of blue eyes stared up at her face. Jaina offered her a baby giggle. Her aunt couldn’t help but answer with her own.

 

“Congratulations, kid!” Han patted his back, then joined his wife. “A warning! I’m gonna spoil the Nine Corellian Hells out of them!” he added with an almost stupid grin.

 

Ben’s little hand grabbed Luke’s and he tugged gently.

 

“Babies?” he asked his uncle. His voice was full of wonder.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Can I see?”

 

“Of course!” he herded the six years old towards the crib, then helped him climb onto the stool that Chewie pulled there. The moment he leaned over the crib, he had the attention of the two babies. Luke watched his face closely, so he saw the exact moment it happened. The three children reached out to each other through the Force and they connected.

 

“Wow! They are so bright!” Ben said with awe. He looked at Luke with wide eyes. “Just like you!”

 

That startled Luke. He bright? He didn’t feel bright. Most of the time he felt lost, scared, only moving forward with an inhuman determination. His second set of memories had a huge part in that.

 

“Thank you!” he replied, clearly touched.

 

“They are family. They are your cousins.” Leia told her son. “They are younger than you. So, you need to help keep them safe.”

 

Ben looked so honored and happy at the idea of him protecting those little children, that Luke felt his heart melt in his chest. Mara touched his hand and they shared a look. Maybe they would have a chance after all.

 

***

It turned out that the Solo family hadn’t just come to accompany them to Chandrila. They had come to take the Skywalker family to Naboo. As it turned out, Pooja Naberrie, their cousin, was more than happy to give shelter to the Skywalker-Solo family till the situation quiets down.

 

“Mon Mothma is dealing with the press. She just needs a little time and by the look of it, you too!” Leia informed them. She took in the state of the fresh parents and she didn’t like what she saw. Although, she couldn’t possibly blame them. She and Han had had extreme few months after Ben’s arrival. Considering that Luke and Mara had twins… they probably barely knew what sleep meant anymore.  


The Kallidahins gifted them with a crib and Han with Chewie’s help secured it on the Falcon. Once they said their goodbyes, Leia herded the fresh parents to the crew’s quarters.

 

“But…” Luke protested as soon as he understood what she wanted. The crib had been placed in the lounge area. He wasn’t ready to let the kids out of his sight. By the look on her face, Mara shared the sentiment.

 

“I’ll watch them. They’ll be okay!” Leia reassured them. “I took care of Ben, remember?”

 

“But there is two of them!” Luke protested.

 

“Yeah, and they are his kids!” Mara pointed at her husband.

 

“Hey!” Luke frowned. He was too tired to truly understand, but he knew that he had been just insulted.

 

“Shut up, Farmboy! You are unlucky and a trouble magnet! Considering our luck, they are too!” she huffed.

 

Leia pushed them further into the crew’s quarters with a fond smile. “It’s okay. I wake you up if something is wrong, anyway!”

 

“You swear?” Luke narrowed his eyes.

 

“On Han’s life!” Leia nodded.

 

“Is that good enough?” Mara asked Luke with a dubious expression on her face.

 

“Hmmm…”

 

“On Ben’s life! Now go to sleep!” Leia locked the door behind her.

 

***

Pooja greeted them warmly as the suddenly not so little family walked down on the ramp. Her beautiful face lit up as she saw the three children.

 

“My family is growing rapidly.” she smiled. “I’m so glad to see you!”   


“I don’t even know how to thank you for your help,” Luke told her.

 

“You don’t have to. This is nothing compared to what you have done and keep doing for us,” she replied warmly. “And I barely know you. That has to change soon, Mister!”

 

Luke was surprised, but he didn’t resist the grin that appeared on his face. So, Leia got that from that side of their family.

 

Pooja took them to the Lake Country with her family’s transport.

 

“There are some very isolated places here,” Pooja explained to them. “Varykino is our family’s private retreat. You all should be safe there.”

 

They were all stunned (except maybe Leia) when they arrived at Varykino. Pooja told them lots of facts about the island and the building, but Luke barely heard some of it. He was too awed at the sight and a strange feeling of homecoming.

 

Pooja left them after she introduced the huge villa. Han and Chewie volunteered to set up the rooms for them, while Leia called dibs on the babysitting duty. The fresh parents were sent to sleep again. This time they didn’t complain.

 

***

 

Pooja visited them frequently and she and Luke talked a lot. The older woman shared everything she knew about his and Leia’s mother with him. She also fell in love with the three children and promised to send so many gifts for their Life Days that they would fill their homes with them.

 

Luke adored her.

 

***

 

They spent three months there, till one night Mon Mothma arrived with Pooja.

 

“They are beautiful!” she said when she was introduced to the Twins.

 

“Thank you!” Mara smiled fondly at her children. Luke wouldn’t dare to say it out loud, but their children softened her hard wife.

 

“We are needed back, aren’t we?” Leia asked her mentor.

 

Mon Mothma nodded with a slightly sad expression. “We need you. All of you. However, I can assure you, that there were precautions made. It’s actually illegal to write or take holos of Jaina and Jacen without your permission.” she grinned at Luke.

 

“Now, I’m envious!” Han muttered under his nose. Leia playfully jabbed her elbow into his side. “Ow!”

 

Luke ignored them. He stared at the Senator in front of him.

 

“How did you manage that?”

 

“That was the least the Senate could do for you.” Mon Mothma smiled mysteriously.

 

“And I’m jealous!” Han continued.

 

***

 

Their return to Chandrila still attracted a crowd. At least it was a crowd of politicians. All of them wanted to see the Twins. They were allowed a look (from afar), then Mon, Leia, Han and Chewie formed a wall for the new parents to help them escape.

 

After getting home, Luke with Artoo’s help searched his apartment for listening devices. They found four of them and two cameras.

 

“You do know that we don’t have a nursery, right?” Mara asked him after he destroyed the offending things. He blinked at her. Come to think of it. They kept it secret, which meant…

 

In the end, they moved into the Solo apartment for a year and a half.

 

***

Jaina inherited his sky-blue eyes, while her brother’s were emerald green. Their hair ended up and interesting mixture of blond and red. Jaina was very talkative, like she was speaking all the time. Compared to her Jacen was quiet. However, when he talked, well… Luke had no idea how he had learned sarcasm at such a young age. He was expert at it by the time he had turned five. Mara did have an idea, and it had probably something to do with the narrowed eyed glare she shot Luke when their son commented on something.

 

Jaina loved spaceship and flying much to her parents’ delight. She spent most of her time around Luke’s X-Wing, the Jade Sabre and when he was around, Uncle Han’s Falcon. All though, her true passion was flying from a very young age, she was also drawn to anything that was technology. She had ruined nearly all of their household appliances. Lucky for them, Luke was good at putting things back together, so they didn’t have to replace everything. Their little girl was forced to sit with him during those processes as a punishment. Actually, he hoped that if she learned how to fix what she had ruined, then he would have a lot more free time.

 

Jacen loved nature, animals and as he got older, politics. When he was around, the news was a must watch. His parents had found him many times sitting in the circle of his pets (lizards, tiny mammals, a loth-cat named Craseo, who hated Han) speaking about … politics. Luke and Mara had encouraged his passion too, by allowing him to join Leia in her meetings, whenever the subject was appropriate. His Aunt was way too happy to share her knowledge and experience with him.

 

Jaina was an inferno, while Jacen turned out to be the ocean with all its debts.

 

The Twins adored Ben and looked up to him. Their cousin took his responsibility of protecting the Twins very seriously. He spent most of his free time with them and sometimes that was his downfall. Because Mara had predicted it right. The Twins were trouble magnets. The story was usually the same. Jaina or Jacen came up with an adventure (aka something stupid). Ben usually tried to stop them, then ended up in the middle of it thanks to the puppy dog eyes. In the end, they always ended up in trouble and one of the four parents (or as usual all of them) had to rush to the rescue.

 

The three of them made Luke very proud.

 

***

Ben had a new way to rebel against his parents. Whenever he got into trouble with Leia or Han and got scolded, he said his magic words. I want Uncle Luke. The Jedi had to admit that he probably had something to do with that. Warned by his second set of memories he made sure that Ben could confide in him anytime and about anything. It also meant that he had never scolded his nephew. It was not his job, after all. He had his own set of twins to scold. That was how Ben ended up thinking that hiding behind him was a good idea when he got into trouble.

 

His nephew was nine years old when Leia snapped.

 

“Fine! You go to your Uncle and he’ll train you to be a Jedi! Then you’ll find out what discipline is!”

 

It ended with Ben running away from home (not good, not when you are on Coruscant), Han desperately searching the streets after a huge argument with Leia, while his wife led another search party.

 

He heard so many people’s shout for help, that Luke got a migraine.

 

Good thing he had been on Coruscant.

 

He kissed Mara’s cheeks apologetically, hugged his three years old twins, then went after his nephew’s Force presence. He found him on one of Coruscant’s civilian transports. How nobody noticed the sulking nine years old in one of the corners he would never know. (Okay, he would, Force-sensitive, alright. ) He held out his arms, watched as Ben’s face crumpled in on itself, despite the fact that according to the child, nine years olds are too big to cry, then flew into his arms.

 

He is safe. He told Leia through their Force, then commed Chewie to tell him the same. He would know how to deal with Han.

 

He took Ben to their secret, favorite place, where that kind Caamasi served the best hot chocolate on the planet. He was also kind enough to mix some of his special analgesic herbs into Luke’s. He had been so, so thankful. Then he listened to Ben’s story (something about an ambassador with a big mouth and mean words, who had been pranked by the child with righteous anger). But only Ben’s last words hit a chord deep inside him.

 

“Mom and Dad don’t like me. They want to send me away.”

 

He was already shaking his head at the word ‘like’, but it became vigorous at the ‘send me away’.

 

“They love you very much!” he stressed every word. “They love you more than anything else in this Galaxy.”

 

“But they are never home! They work so much! I think they love the Galaxy more.” Ben wasn’t really crying, but his eyes were huge and shiny.

 

“Ben. They work so much to make the Galaxy better place for you. They are doing all this for you.” He tried to explain.

 

“Than why does Mom want to send me away?” Ben sounded small.

 

“Well, you did say, you wanted me.” Luke smiled, but he knew it looked strained and tired. He was tired, all right. Have you tried to rest between two Force-sensitive three years old?

 

“Because you are nice.” Ben shrugged and looked away.

 

“Your mother is nice, Ben!” he thought about it, then added quietly. “Most of the times.”

 

“She is always angry with me!”

 

“She is stern.” Luke corrected him. “But don’t worry. She is stern with me too! And you do know that she loves me, right?”

 

“Mom is stern with you too?” Ben gaped at him, dark eyes even wilder.

 

“Of course! I do lots of stupid things. Someone has to be stern with me too. That’s exactly how I know they care.”

 

***

Han and Leia were home when he herded the suddenly shy nine years old through the Solo family’s apartment door. Leia was immediately there, wrapping her arms around her son, while Han shot Luke the most grateful look that he could master. He waited long enough for the parents to tuck the child into bed, then it was his time to be stern.

 

He scolded the Nine Corellian Hells out of his sister and brother-in-law.

 

***

 

Ben had been eleven when he stood in front of his Uncle and told him he wanted to become a Jedi.

 

“I truly want this.” the kid vowed. “This is my dream. I’ wanna be strong, just like you!”

 

“No,” Luke replied. The shocked and hurt look on the child’s face pained him, but he continued. “You won’t be like me. You won’t be like anyone else! You will be Ben Solo! And no one will be you either. Do you understand?”

 

Ben stared for a few moments, but then his face lit up brilliantly. “Yes!”

 

“Good! Because I’m very proud of my very special nephew. I always will be. Now, we’ll start your training tomorrow.” he declared. Then he thought about it again. “Or after we asked your Mommy.”


	2. Chapter 2

Luke Skywalker doesn’t get sick. That’s the first rule of the Galaxy. He gets hurt and suffers the consequences for a short period of time, then he bounces back. That’s the routine. The only sickness he had had was the Desert Fever, which had been actually sepsis. He had cut his leg once when he had been racing in the desert and then the next day he had fallen terribly ill. He had nearly died but survived in the end miraculously. He suspected that Old Ben had had something to do with it.

 

So, he wasn’t sick. He was physically unable to get sick. He definitely didn’t get that bug that had forced his twins into bed for two days. He had nursed his babies (according to Ben five years olds are not babies, but no one dares to argue with Luke on this one.) back to health and that was the end of the story.

 

He told that Han too, but somehow his brother-in-law didn’t seem to get that. Luke had nearly gotten into the Senate’s meeting, but Han had spotted him. The next second they were arguing about who was sick and who wasn’t. Luke wasn’t, thank you very much!

 

“You are going home!” Han declared and spun the Jedi around.

 

Luke had essential hypotension and that was why he got dizzy and not because he was sick. Han had other ideas. The older man pressed his palm against his forehead and Luke felt nineteen again. He batted the hand away stubbornly. He wasn’t nineteen, he was thirty-five, damn it!

 

“Yep, you have a fever!” Han almost sing-songed. “You are going home.”

 

Luke protested, Force knows he did, but somehow he still ended up in Solo’s speeder.

 

“So, which bug has been collected by the mischievous duo?” Han asked.

 

“Melancholy Fever.” Luke shrugged. He leaned his head against the window. The coolness felt wonderful. “If I remember correctly, that was what 2-1-B said. Seriously. Who gave that name… ”

 

“Luke?” Han’s voice sounded strained. “Did you have this, when you were a kid?”

 

“Heh?” Luke blinked. “No. I don’t get sick. Aunt Beru was really proud. We couldn’t afford proper medicine.”

 

“We are getting 2-1-B as soon as we get you home. Where is Mara?” Han increased the speed of their vehicle.

 

“She’ll be back at Friday. And Han? THIS IS A CHILDREN’S DISEASE!” Luke didn’t have much patience left. His limbs were aching, just like his head and he was hot and cold at the same time. How is that even possible?

 

“This disease can be acquired by both adults and children. It’s considered more a children’s disease because the bigger part of the population get it when they are children. However, some unlucky bastards like you, who have been cut off from civilization in their childhood ends up with it as adults!” Han explained impatiently. “The bad news is that with kids, it’s just a mild fever, but with adults, it’s a lot worse! Do you get it?”

 

“Erm… No…” Luke frowned at his brother-in-law. “What?”

 

“You are screwed!” Han summarized his situation.

 

“Master Luke! You are back early!” Threepio greeted them as Han unlocked their door. Han herded the younger man towards the master bedroom, while expertly zig-zagging between the droid parts that lay on the floor. The Twins appeared in front of them wrapped in their Ewok patterned blankets.

 

“Uncle Han?” Jaina asked with a frown. The look she sent her father was critical. It was pure Mara. “Why does Daddy look like a zombie?”

 

“Why does she know what a zombie looks like?” Luke asked the room. He turned towards his brother-in-law. “Hah? Why?”

 

“I’m pretty sure because she is yours,” Han replied as he pushed the Jedi towards his room. “Or because you let Lando babysit way too often.”

 

In the next few minutes Luke’s boots and jacket got stolen, he ended up under his blanket and Threepio was instructed to fetch medicine and 2-1-B. The Twins considered his situation an invitation and they climbed up onto his bed. Jaina got his right, while Jacen his left. They wrapped themselves around his torso and made themselves awfully comfortable. Next thing he knew, they were snoring. Luke glared at Han. He had things to do!

 

“I’ll call Mara---“

 

“You don’t call Mara!”

 

“I’ll call Mara and shut it, Jedi! Then if she can’t get home sooner, than I’ll be back with Leia. If you feel worse, call us! I’ll give instructions to Goldenrod too.”

 

Luke kept glaring till his brother-in-law left his apartment. Craseo jumped onto his bed and ended up on his shin. Black eyes stared into his without blinking.

 

“You can bite him when he comes back,” Luke told it. “By the way, you are not allowed on the bed!”

 

***

Something was very wrong. Seriously wrong. One moment he started dozing between his twins and the next he lay on his back fighting for every breath with heroic effort. He felt so hot like something that had been thrown into the lava on Mustafar. The worst thing though was that he couldn’t move a muscle. Couldn’t even open his eyes.

 

There was chaos around him. Threepio was panicking, babbling like a lunatic. He heard Jacen screaming at the droid, then shouting names like … a lunatic. (That not a nice thing to think about your son, Luke!)

 

“Mom! MOM! Uncle Han! Aunt Leia! BEN!BENBENEBENBEN! MOM!” There were tears in his son’s voice. He needed to move!

 

But not just his son was crying. Jaina was screaming at him. “Daddy! Wake up! Daddy! Daddy! I’m scared!”

 

That was the worst! His baby girl was scared. Terrified. He was terrified too. What kind of a father can’t protect their little girl, when she is scared?

 

Something was tugging on his shirt, ripping the fabric. The throaty sound that followed it was familiar. Craseo. He was still not allowed onto the bed…

 

Then Chewie entered through the closed door. He knew it was Chewie, because no one else could roar like, that, and no one else can destroy a heavy durasteel door just like that. Then he heard Han curse and Leia gasp. He felt relief. Relief, because Leia, Han and Chewie could protect the Twins.

 

Savethemsavethemsavethem.

 

“Mom? What’s wrong with Uncle Luke?”

 

Hey! Ben was not allowed into dangerous situations! Although, that was a really good question. What was wrong with him?

 

Strong and furry arms hauled him out of the bed and he was cradled against the huge Wookiee. Like a child. He was thirty-five!

 

“Dad?”

 

“Ben! Stay with the Twins, okay? I’ll be back soon, but you have to stay with Jaina and Jacen, okay? Can you do that?” Han sounded frantic.

 

“Yes!”

 

Luke didn’t hear anything else.

 

***

Something is terribly wrong, he decided as he opened his eyes and saw something very familiar. Ahch-To. That landscape belonged to Ahch-To. He turned and found himself facing his father. He didn’t look young, like those time he had seen him as a Force-ghost. That time he had grey hair and wrinkles around his sky-blue eyes. He still towered over him.

 

Anakin looked tired. Could a Force-ghost do that?

 

“What happened?” it was refreshing to be able to ask and not answer for once.

 

“You nearly died,” Anakin whispered. He stepped forward and pulled his son into his arms. Luke couldn’t help it. He likened his father to a Wookiee.

 

“It wasn’t just a bug, was it?” he had to ask.

 

“No.” His father growled. “You were a target.”

 

Luke blinked into the fabric of Anakin’s robe. Target? “Snoke?”

 

He felt Anakin’s node.

 

“How?”

 

His father released him and Luke stepped back. He stared into the blue eyes that were identical to his own.

 

“Snoke kept a close eye on you. You caught the Melancholy from your children. It weakened you down enough for him to attack. Somehow, he shut down your body and your connection to the Force. That’s how the sickness nearly killed you.” Anaking explained.

 

“How can he be so strong?” Luke despaired. He started pacing. “This way, it’s… unbalanced!”

 

“You seem to forget that there is six Force-user in your family, who belongs to the Light Side.” Anakin smiled at him. He seemed so proud.

 

Luke shook his head. “Only Mara and me. Ben barely started his training. Leia doesn’t want it. Jacen and Jaina are five!” and not that interested in the Force, at least for now.  


“Doesn’t change the fact.” Anakin grinned, then he turned serious. “And Snoke’s powers are amplified.”

 

Luke frowned at him, then it came to him. “That ring?”

 

Anakin nodded. “It has ties to Mustafar.”

 

Luke put that information into a ‘Recheck, when you are not half-dead’ compartment in his mind. He turned back to his father.

 

“You saved me.” It’s not a question, he knew it was the fact.

 

“I fought for you. But I wasn’t alone.” Anakin smiled fondly. “I had help.”

 

“You have to be more specific than that.” Because Anakin had been right before. Luke thought about those two indestructible women of his life, Mara and Leia. Ben’s vast power. Jaina’s and Jacen’s burning energy. Anakin had to be more specific…

 

But his father didn’t reply. He pulled his son into his arms one more time and begged him to be more careful and watch out for himself too.

 

Then Luke woke up.

 

He still felt horrible. His body was aching everywhere, his head was hurting, his eyes prickled and his mouth was dry.

 

“Ow!” he summarized wisely.

 

“Uncle Luke?” The voice was small and insecure. It forced him to move.

 

Luke found the right button and after few awkward tries, he rose the head of the bed. Much better.

 

“Ben?” he croaked. He sounded horrible. Ben and he ignored it.

 

“I’m so sorry!” Ben was crying huge crocodile tears. With his big dark eyes and red face, he looked so much younger, than his actual eleven years.

 

 _What’s wrong, Kiddo?_ He asked through their mental link. It was much easier than getting anything through his aching throat and it also allowed him to check on the shields that had been erected around the child’s mind. While his had weakened considerably, Leia’s and Ben’s (because that had been the first thing he had taught him) stood strong.

 

“I’m sorry!” Ben sniffed loudly. “But you were so sick and I had to do something and…”

 

 _Ben, breath._ He instructed. The child sniffed again and rubbed his eyes vigorously.

 

_Now, tell me. Maybe from the start?_

 

“There was a presence.” Ben started. “It was dark. Very dark. It really hates you!” dark eyes rounded on him.

 

“I don’t know why…” Luke muttered under his breath. His wayward sarcasm resurfacing.

 

“I… I wanted it to go away…” Ben continued quietly. Luke felt his stomach sink. “I went against it. But it was so strong. It just toyed with me. Why was it so strong?”

 

 _He is old. Very old. Even older than me._ Luke tried to explain. _He has more experience._ And a kriffing ring. 

 

“It was scary,” Ben admitted with something that resembled shame. “I felt so scared. But I couldn’t let it win. You needed me. And Grandfather helped! With him and you, we won!”

 

 _Yes, you did_. Luke smiled. _However, next time please call Aunt Mara or your Mom, please._

 

“Mom was panicking so much. She didn’t know what to do. And Aunt Mara couldn’t get back in time. She is still on her way.” Then Ben looked up with proud eyes. “But I didn’t let Jaina and Jacen help! I kept them safe!”

 

_Thank you! You were very brave._

 

“So, you are not mad? I know you said that I shouldn’t challenge Siths, but it was an emergency and… and… I had to do something!”

 

Luke reached out a still shaking hand and ruffled the black locks of his nephew. _How could I be mad at you? You saved my life. I’m proud of you._

 

Ben beamed, tears forgotten. He launched into an exciting tale of how he just knew what to do when the door flew open. And a red-head flew in. Mara didn’t have makeup on, her hair had been pulled back into a hasty ponytail, her face was white as the shiny walls around them and her shirt was inside out. Her green eyes bore into his.

 

“You stupid…”

 

Luke grinned at her. _Ben saved me._

 

She froze for a second, then her eyes turned slowly towards Ben. The kid gulped audibly. Then Mara launched herself at Ben and wrapped her arms around him. Ben’s yelp was epic.

 

***

He was walking in the crowd of the Ring of Kafrene’s trading outpost when he spotted it. It was small, dirty, starved and trapped in a cage. He walked up to the trader and pointed at the creature.

 

“Where did you get that from?”

 

The man showed him a toothless grin. “It’s a secret. But I can tell you, it’ rare, very rare. Want it?”

 

Luke reached into the man’s mind, but what he found didn’t give him what he wanted. This man just stole the creature from another one. He witnessed the murder in the other man’s mind.

 

“You really should rethink your life.” Luke sighed.

 

“I really should rethink my life.” the man parroted him. Luke froze. The man walked away with a dazed look on his face. Luke blinked at the empty stand in front of him.

 

“Well, that wasn’t intentional.” he huffed.

 

Luke took it with him. He couldn’t leave it there. He also bought it the right food. His second set of memories coming handy again.

 

Once sitting in his ship, he opened the cage. The creature stared at him with big, black, terrified eyes. Luke shushed it with the Force. Luke offered it food and the hunger won.

 

***

“Daddy? What is this?” Jacen asked with awe as Luke showed him the creature. His son’s love for animals was legendary. Just like the number of animals that lived with them in their apartment.

 

“It’s a porg.”

 

“I’ll call it Balloon!” Jacen laughed. Balloon cuddled close to its tiny human.

 

Mara won’t be impressed.

 

***

Luke had been prepared for lots of things, thanks to his second set of memories. He actually liked to freak out certain people with it. Not very Jedi like? Who cares? He was … okay, felt… old enough not to care.

 

But there was something he wasn’t prepared for. A call by the principal of the Ben’s, Jaina’s and Jacen’s school. And he was not the only one.

 

He and Han had been having a Men’s Day. Thanks to their nomadic and totally not normal life, these were a real rarity. More endangered, than an Alderaanian manka cat. According to Han.

 

So, they were enjoying their quiet time together on the Falcon, when suddenly their commlinks erupted into a crazy buzz. The two devices formed a really creepy chorus.

 

“I don’t want to know,” Han muttered. His wide-eyed stare could have been comical, but sadly, Luke shared the sentiment.

 

“We should reply.” Luke offered. He didn’t feel that brave though.

 

“You first”. Han nodded.

 

“Why? You are the older one!”

 

“You are the Jedi!”

 

“The same time?”

 

“That sounds fair.”

 

“Okay… One… Two… Three…”

 

“Luke Skywalker” and “Solo” formed another stranger chorus.

 

Then they were told to get to the school ASAP.

 

“I still don’t want to know,” Han mumbled.

 

“They really sounded mad.” Luke groaned.

 

“Do you think they are in trouble?” Han wanted to know as he got to his feet.

 

“No” Luke stretched the word out. “They just want to show off the principal’s new bug collection in person!”

 

Han glared at him.

 

“You used to be so nice and innocent. What went wrong?”

 

“What didn’t?”

 

***

The School was supposed to be the best on Coruscant and even in the Galaxy. That was the only reason that Skywalker and Solo families moved to the planet. Those who graduated from there had the best chance to enter the University of Coruscant. Leia had sworn that it was a good decision for their kids. After all, Ben had no problem there through the years.

 

That day it was proven untrue.

 

Luke had nudged his bond with his twins to help him prepare better for the confrontation with the principal. (They were Skywalkers. He had no illusion of what was waiting for them.) What he sensed made him quicken his steps as he got out of Han’s speeder. Jaina’s emotions filled his head. Fear, embarrassment, determination, worry and righteous anger. What worried him even more, that Jacen had closed off his mind.

 

There was a gathering on the schoolyard. His twins and Ben were standing in the middle of it. Luke heard something crack somewhere when he saw the black eye on his son’s face. He halfheartedly hoped it wasn’t a neck. Han gripped his shoulder way too tightly to consider it comforting. After all, Ben had blood on his face too. His sixteen years old nephew was standing tall, arms crossed in front of his chest while glaring at the Principal in front of them. (A very Han like posture.) Jaina and Jacen stood behind him. Jaina was gripping her brother’s right hand with both of her own. If looks could kill (which they can if you are for example Luke Skywalker), her blue orbs would have murdered half the people surrounding them.

 

“What’s going on?” Luke demanded as soon as he entered the shameful circle. The three children turned towards him and his step nearly faltered at the relief that filled his senses. He and Han stopped between their children and the Principal and other people, who were standing on his sides.

 

“Ah! Here you are, Skywalker!” The last word was spat at him. The venomous tone came from the man who stood next to the Principal. He was dressed in fancy clothes, his white hair thin with bald spots. Andnath Macebad, a Senator, arrogant and uptight, according to Leia. Luke pulled himself to his full height, which alone wasn’t that impressive, but he also allowed his power in the Force to be felt. The air got colder around them and several of the staff and others took a step or two back. Luke masked his satisfaction.

 

“It’s Jedi Skywalker to you!” Ben hissed from behind him.

 

“Ben Solo, please refrain from speaking.” The Principal addressed the teenager.

 

“My son merely corrected a mistake, Sir! By the way, he can speak whenever he wants.” Han sounded awfully polite. No one was mistaken.

 

“I still have no idea what’s going on. Would someone please enlighten me?” Luke’s blue eyes bore into the Principal’s.

 

“Well, your offsprings assaulted my child and his friends,” Macebad explained. His movements were theatrical, his voice overly dramatic. Luke wanted to strangle him. Badly…

 

“After an argument, Jaina and Jacen Skywalker with the help of Ben Solo seemingly levitated. Ulirap Macebad and three other children up onto that roof.” the Principal pointed at the highest point of the building. Luke barely refrained from whistling. “We had to rescue them with speeders. It had been quite a traumatic event for them.”

 

Ulirap was there, standing next to his father. He was stall, just like Ben. He was nodding to the Principal’s word with an overly dramatic expression on his youthful face. Just like his father.

 

“First of all, I was the one who levitated them up there, and they were---“ Ben stepped forward angrily, but he was cut off by the Principal.

 

“I told you to refrain from speaking.”

 

Luke spoke again before Han could react. He shot a critical look at Ulirap. “You are a Senior, am I right? And completely healthy,” he said slowly.

 

Ulirap pointed at Ben. “He broke Benkev’s nose!” he whined.

 

“And who gave my son and black eye?” Luke asked coldly. Ulirap took a step back at the tone of his voice. “Who is by the way ten years old?”

 

“Jedi Skywalker. Whatever happened, your children and nephew can’t use these abilities to get back at others.” the Principal told him.

 

“Whatever happened?” Han gapped next to Luke, but he was ignored.

 

“I’m afraid I have to suspend the three of them for three weeks starting tomorrow.” the Principal continued. “In addition, I have to ask you to apologize on the belhaf of your family to Senator Macebad publicly tomorrow.”

 

Cold furry filled Luke’s mind, but he stamped down on it. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction to show any reaction. Ben and Han were showing enough.

 

“Just suspension?” the older Macebad drawled. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with allowing my son to study in such an environment.”

 

“Senator Macebad. We’ll consider our options tomorrow.” The Principal sounded placating. He shot a calculating look at Luke. “Of course, if Jedi Skywalker---“

 

“I’ll be here tomorrow.” Luke cut him off with a smile. “I’ll apologize. Publicly.”

 

The first time since his arrival Macebad looked startled. Luke allowed his smile to widen even more. Yeah, Principal didn’t look so sure either.

 

“Till then, Goodbye!”

 

He gently herded his twins towards the gates of the school. He knew that Ben and Han was following him closely.

 

“Dad? Will you do something?” Ben asked his father. “Or Mom? Mom could do something. Those idiots were hurting Jacen.”

 

“Nah…” Han said. “Your Uncle has that ‘Kriff you I’m a Legend’ face on. He got this.”

 

***

As soon as they closed the door behind them at home, Jacen broke down crying. He apologized again and again, because he hadn’t meant to be the cause of this.

 

Luke hugged him against himself tightly as they both sank down onto the floor. He reached a hand out to his daughter, who looked so lost and sad too and she flew into his embrace. He rocked them and shushed them. He showed them through their bonds how proud he was and he wasn’t mad at all. He would keep them safe and he would deal with all this. It was okay.

 

Mara found them like that when she arrived at home. He could barely stop her from going on a killing spree as she spotted the injury on her beautiful son’s face. She though reigned herself in, when he pointed out that they had to take care of their children first and rage later.

 

They treated Jacen’s face and Jaina’s knuckles. (According to the story, the ten years old girl had thrown a hell of a punch.) Luke used the Force for this, because cheating or not, his children won’t suffer, kriff it!

 

They made Jacen’s favorite hotcakes for dinner. (Thank Force, that Mara was not a lost cause in the kitchen, like him) Then they sat down and watched the Twins' favorite Tv shows, his children cradled against his chest protectively.

 

But once they tucked them in for the night, Mara rounded on him.

 

“You can’t possibly plan to apologize!” she hissed at him. She erupted into an hours-long one-sided argument about why he couldn’t do that.

 

Then their front door opened, Leia marched in with Han and Ben trailing after her and she joined Mara. The women were full of ideas (more illegal than legal) and they kept bombarding him with them. It was close to midnight when he had finally enough.

 

“Trust me! I got this!” he whisper-shouted. Then he ordered the Solos back to their own apartment. They went, but Leia was still fuming. Just like Mara.

 

In the end, he slept on the couch.

 

At least that way his wife couldn’t sneak out of the apartment to start her killing spree.

 

***

The whole school was there with all of the students, teachers and probably every parent who was on the planet. Someone thought that inviting few reporters were a good idea. The right side of the front row was filled with the Principal, Macebad and his wife with their son, and the brat's friends and their parents. The Solo and Skywalker family got seats on the left side.

 

Mara kept glaring daggers at him.

 

The excited murmured died down when he stepped in front of the microphone.

 

“I think everyone is aware of yesterday’s incident.” he started. Several people nodded in the crowd, so he continued. “I came here to apologize. After all, we all have to take responsibility for our actions and inactions. My faults lie in both. I have done lots of things and haven’t done even more. Therefore, I apologize. I apologize because I haven’t done anything to clear up the mystery around Force-sensitives despite knowing how frightening the unknown is. I apologize that this inaction caused several youths to feel intimidated by this ability. I apologize because I have never encouraged people to act kindly and not with harshness against the unknown.”

 

Ulirap squirmed in his seat. His father’s face was reddening.

 

“I apologize because there are still children who have so little love in their life that they feel the need to hurt others. I apologize because this primitive form of manifestation of the need for attention can still exist. I shout out to all of these children. It will get better. You can still find a family, who cares enough, just please turn back from that path. It really can get better.”

 

Senator Macebad turned pale. The Principale’s face was an interesting shade too. But Mara stopped glaring. She looked like she was having the time of her life.

 

“I also apologize that I thought that the head of this school can watch out for these children and step up against the unfairness. I’m terribly sorry that I was this wrong.”

 

The Principal nearly rolled off his chair.

 

“So, I apologize for all of that. I’ll do my best to correct my wrongdoings. However, it would be arrogant of me to think that I could be perfect. Therefore, I apologize in advance for my future mistakes. Thank you for listening to me.”

 

Applause followed him off the stage. He winked at Leia, who shook her head fondly.

 

“Stupid, Farmboy!” Mara whispered into his ear as they herded their very happy looking twins towards their speeder.

 

“Faith, my dear Assassin, you lack it!” Luke grinned.

 

“Shut up!”

 

***

Lots of things happened after his speech. The HoloNet was full of it. Lots of people sent him messages with their opinions. Most of them tried to reassure him that it wasn’t his fault and demanded a formal apology from the school.

 

The Principal had been fired after several complaints had been filed against him. The New Principal visited them and she all but begged for him to keep his children in her school. He had one condition and she accepted it happily.

 

The Senate started an intergalactic program against bullying. The New Principal had become the head of it.

 

Every year Luke was invited to the School to talk to the students about Force-sensitives and the Force.

 

Three days after the speech, incriminating information came to life concerning Macebad. He was kicked out of the Senate and formal proceedings were initiated against him. Karrde just grinned innocently, when Luke narrowed his eyes at him.

 

***

Ben was eighteen when they travel to Jakku. The Sabre is big enough to transport 15 passengers, but with the twelve years old Twins, Ben, Mara, Artoo, Craseo, Balloon and him, it felt full. Maybe the reason behind that was Ben’s moodiness.

 

“Why are we going to that dust ball?” Ben asked for the hundredth time.

 

“You’ll find out when we get there,” Luke replied for the hundredth time. The thing was, he was still more patient than Ben. He could play this game till the end of their journey.

 

“We are jumping out of hyperspace!” Mara called from the cockpit.

 

Ben opened his mouth again, but Luke held up a finger. “Soon!” then “Jaina put that droid aside and strap yourself in. You too, Jacen!”

 

“It’s almost finished!” his daughter called back. Then there was a bang and a curse in Corellian.

 

“Your Uncle is in trouble,” Luke muttered to himself as he joined his wife.

 

Jakku could have been the twin planet of Tatooine. He kind of felt homesick. Not really, just a tiny bit.

 

“Can you sense her?” Mara asked quietly as she maneuvered her shuttle through the atmosphere.

 

“Barely,” he replied. He closed his eyes and searched. “Only because I know her. She is still dormant.”

 

“Why are we...”

 

“Ben! Strap yourself in!”

 

He didn’t. He also fell onto his face, when the shuttle shifted on the sand. Luke bit back his ‘told you so’.

 

“Ben, you come with me. Jaina, Jacen, you stay here with your mother, okay?” he instructed.

 

“What?” Jaina gapped at him.

 

“But I want to come!” Jacen protested.

 

“You do what I ask you to do,” Luke answered.

 

“Seriously. Have you ever win a fight against your father?” Mara smirked at her complaining children. She on her part was more than happy to avoid the hot sand that was waiting for them outside. She was not twenty after all.

 

“We can still try,” Jacen muttered under his nose.

 

“You shouldn’t.” Luke grinned. “Come on, Ben!”

 

“It’s awfully hot. And dry. And bleh!” Ben complained all the way to the small settlement.

 

“Do you want to spend the next part of your training on Tatooine?” Luke raised an eyebrow at him. Ben snapped his mouth shut loudly.

 

“Thought so.”

 

She was eight years old, tiny, messy, smelly, wide-eyed. She was hiding behind a woman’s legs when they approached them. The woman was way older than him and had hard, steady eyes. Luke frowned at that. As far as he knew, she didn’t have parents. He reached out with the Force but didn’t find a real connection between them. Oh, of course! A Guardian. No child could survive on her own on this planet. Or any of them.

 

He explained to them both why he had come. Ben stilled next to him, but other than that, he didn’t move or say anything.

 

The little girl protested vehemently, then tore herself away from the older woman and ran into one of the tents.

 

“She doesn’t belong here.” the older woman told Luke. “I’ll convince her.”

 

“Thank you.” Luke smiled. “You can come with us too.”

 

A fond smile appeared on the woman’s hard face. It turned gentle, like the breeze of Chandrila.

 

“This is my home. I am the child of the Desert. Just like you!” she touched her chest above her heart, then moved her hand onto his.

 

Luke concentrated, paid attention this time. His eyes widened.

 

“You are Force-sensitive.”

 

That explained so much. How Rey had gotten so far in his other set of memories without training. An older Force-sensitive’s presence would have guided her without her even noticing.

 

“This is my home,” she repeated. “But not hers. You’ll take care of her.”

 

She entered the tent after the little girl.

 

“Uncle Luke!” Ben’s voice sounded like a hiss. “A Padawan?”

 

“I’ll explain, Ben.” he smiled.

 

It took them long. Really long. But then the woman and Rey reemerged from the tent and the little girl stopped in front of him.

 

“Nana says you are a good man.” she started with more seriousness, than what an eight years old should have. At least his twins hadn’t been this serious at this age. “Nana also says you’ll take care of me and when the time comes, you’ll help to find my parents. Is it true?”

 

Luke crouched down in front of her and looked into her eyes seriously. “I’ll do everything I can to make it true.”

 

This was the right thing to say because Rey nodded and offered her tiny hand to him. Luke took it and looked into the softened eyes of the stern woman. He had the feeling that his Grandmother, Shmi Skywalker would have looked something like this too.

 

“Thank you,” Luke repeated his gratitude.

 

She smiled her old weathered smile, then kissed Rey on her forehead and left them with the grace of a Desert’s child.

 

***

The Twins welcomed the little girl with awe, Mara with the gentlest smile she could master, Carseo with a purr and Balloon with his special shriek. Rey looked overwhelmed.

 

Jaina took pity on her. She held out a hand to the younger girl and smiled widely and brightly. “I’m building a droid. It will be the best BB-8 droid in the Galaxy! Want to see?”

 

Rey’s eye brightened instantly. The two girls rushed to the shuttle’s cargo bay with Jacen trailing after them with a dramatic ‘Girls!’.

 

“Can I talk to you?” Ben asked tensely. Mara frowned at the boy, but Luke’s look convinced her to step back.

 

Ben followed him into the cockpit.

 

“You told the Senate that you won’t train anyone else. It should be just me, Jaina and Jacen! What is this about?” Ben started as soon as they were alone. Anger was rolling off of him in waves, but it was mixed with confusion and hurt.

 

Luke smiled.

 

“She is too young to be trained.”

 

Ben, probably prepared for something else, frozen in the middle of opening his mouth.

 

“Eh?”

 

“She is eight years old. She didn’t even have a chance to think about being a Jedi. You know that I also told the Senate that I won’t force it on anyone.” he explained.

 

“But she is a Force-sensitive!” Ben waved his arms around in a very Han like way.

 

“That doesn’t change the facts.” Luke grinned at his nephew’s confusion.

 

“But why?” Ben’s arms fell to his sides limply. “You are confusing me.”

 

“Ben. She is young. She needs a home. We can give it to her. Then, by the time she grows up and if she decides to do something with her abilities, I won’t be the only one who could teach her.”

 

It took few moments for Ben to understand. He slowly raised his hand and pointed at himself. “You mean me? I could train her?”

 

“If you want to.” Luke grinned. “And if she wants you to.”

 

Ben’s face lit up brilliantly. He stepped forward and wrapped his way too long limbs around Luke. “Thank you so much, Uncle Luke!”

 

***

Luke glared at the offending datapad in his hand. He also was ignoring Mara’s uncontrollable laughter.

 

“They gave me a moon…” He said slowly, lowly. “They give me a kriffing moon! What do I do with a kriffing moon?”

 

Mara gasped for air next to him.

 

“You know, this is actually not funny.” Luke glared.

 

Another fit of laughter took hold of his wife.

 

Apparently, the Senate decided to gift him with Yavin IV. He was really not amused by that.

 

“I think… This is… Their way… Of encouraging … you… to train… younglings.” Mara forced out. She was wiping the tears from her face.

 

“But I told them I won’t…” he mumbled. He thought about throwing the datapad into the bin and not look back.

 

“Serves you right for adopting a Force-sensitive! You gave them hope!”

 

“But it’s not equivalent to training her! And by the way, you were an enthusiastic part of the adopting too.”

 

“Well, she is adorable and the Twins like her…”

 

“Than can you please help me out with this? Come on, Mara! This is not funny! It’s a kriffing moon!”   


***

 

“My son wants to be a politician.” Luke groaned. He accepted the glass of Corellian wine which was handed to him by Han. The former smuggler threw himself down onto the couch which sat opposite of Luke’s armchair.

 

“Are you surprised?” Han asked back.

 

“No. But still. My son wants to be a politician.” He sipped the red colored drink and let out a sigh.

 

“Your daughter has been accepted into the Pilot Academy, which is a way more dangerous job and you are complaining about your son wanting to be a politician?” Han sounded incredulous.

 

“He will be one. He is unstoppable. You know it’s your wife’s fault!” Luke said dreamily. Then he held his index finger up in front of Han’s face. “One, Jaina is a Skywalker. Of course, she wants to be a pilot!” his middle finger joined the other. “And two, shut up! You were allowed to complain about Ben wanting to be a Jedi!”

 

“Fair point”

 

***

Rey remained dormant even though she was surrounded by Force-sensitives. It was there unmistakably in her fast reflexes and empathy, but it didn’t truly awaken.

 

It bothered her more than it should.

 

“Why?” she asked once when they sat next to each other on the old steps of Yavin’s Temple. “I really want it, but it won’t come to me. Why?”

 

He looked into her huge brown eyes and smiled reassuringly.

 

“You know, the Force usually has a funny way of doing things. I think it has an important role for you, but it also wants you to enjoy your childhood as long as you can. If I were you, I wouldn’t hurry these things.”

 

“But I want to be there for you all! I want to help Ben!” she protested. Her lower lip trembled slightly.

 

Luke reached out and tussled her dark locks, that time free from her tiny buns.

 

“You have no idea how much you help us, Little One!”

 

“Really?” She gave him a wide-eyed wonder filled stare.

 

“Really.”

 

***

This time it happened the other way around. It was him, who woke to the sound of lightsaber’ humming next to his head. He turned slowly. Ben’s face was illuminated by the blue light of his weapon. However, the look in his eyes, it was not Ben. Luke didn’t reach for his own saber.

 

Ben blinked, then it was suddenly him. He dropped the lightsaber and staggered back. The dark eyes were terrified.

 

“I…I… I… Uncle Luke… I’m…” his eyes flew from one side to the other. He was ready to bolt.

 

“Ben,” Luke said gently. That one word froze the boy to the spot. “Ben. Look at me!”

 

He didn’t raise his voice. He kept it low and shooting. Ben’s eyes snapped towards him.

 

“Uncle Luke… I… Get away from me!” Ben nearly bolted out of the room, but Luke held a hand out for him. He didn’t use the Force or say anything, he just reached out to him. Ben stayed.

 

“Ben. It’s me. I’m here and I won’t go anywhere. Come here! I’ll protect you!”

 

_Like always._

 

Ben crumbled to the ground sobbing loudly. Luke approached him carefully, then knelt down next to him. He pulled the youth against himself and hugged him tightly.

 

“I always forget how big you have gotten!” he joked gently. Ben sobbed even louder.

 

“Uncle Luke! I’m so sorry! I didn’t---“

 

He cut him off. “It wasn’t you.”

 

Ben’s head snapped up. He nearly knocked it against Luke’s jaw, but the older Jedi was still faster.

 

“What?”

 

“I’ve seen him in your eyes. It was him. I think he tries to turn us against each other.” Luke explained.

 

Ben pulled away from him. His whole body was trembling.

 

“But if he can do that, than…”

 

“He can’t do that.” Luke shook his head. Ben looked lost. “Don’t you see? You didn’t allow him to do that. You saved me.”

 

Ben shook his head vigorously. There were fresh tears running down his face. “Uncle Luke, you don’t understand… I---“

 

“Ben! Look at me!” Ben’s dark eyes bore into his. He showed the youth the truth in his own. “He once tried to do the same with me.”

 

“And how did you overcome him?”

 

“I had a very long nightmare, then woke up with a chance to right the things that went wrong. We’ll do the same with your nightmare, okay? Together we’ll right the wrong.”

 

*** 

They didn’t solve the situation overnight. Ben begged him to lock away his lightsaber, which he did eventually. He also commed Mara, who had taken Rey with her to Karrde a week before that terrible night and asked her to prolong their stay with her former boss. Mara told him that she felt a shift in the Force. He confirmed it. Fortunately, both Jaina and Jacen were on Coruscant busy with their studies.

 

A few years ago, Luke had asked Karrde for a few Ysalamirs that he kept on Yavin IV. Good thing, because Ben only dared to sleep surrounded by them.

 

It took him a week, but finally, he managed to convince Ben to allow his parents to visit. He left the Solo family alone during their reunion. He was walking among the trees that surrounded the Temple when Han appeared next to him. The former smuggler hugged him so tightly that he couldn’t really breath.

 

It felt like victory.

 

***

The next time Snoke tried to pull the same trick, the whole family was there. Huddled together, the Force glowed around them. As Luke channeled that incredible power against the Dark Sider, he felt his Father’s powerful presence join them.

 

They won. Ben's mind was free.

 

However, they didn’t win the war itself. Although, Luke liked their odds better than in the alternate universe.

 

***   


The day when Rey asked him if she could call him Dad was cataloged as one of the best of his life.

 

***

 

“Dad!”

 

Jaina sounded alarmed, so he jumped to his feet and rushed into their living-room.

 

“What happened?”

 

Jacen motioned at the projector that was on in the middle of the room. The HoloNet News was on and it showed Ransolm Casterfo. Apparently, the politician just revealed to the Senate that Darth Vader was Leia Organa-Solo’s real father. It caused a hell of an uproar.

 

Luke took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.

 

“Well, that’s bad,” he muttered.

 

“How dare he! Mom was his friend!” Ben growled next to him. Luke was just glad that he had managed to convince Leia that their children needed to know the truth way back then. Their perspective of history was different to the rest of the Galaxy thanks to that.

 

“This is bad.” Jacen nodded, but a smile formed slowly on his face. He was still young, turning nineteen next month, but he had already found his place in the political world of the New Republic. He had learned a lot from Leia. “But not unsolvable.”

 

“Oh, Force, don’t tell me you have a speech!” Luke groaned.

 

“Dad… You want him to lie?” Jaina asked. Rey giggled next to her.

 

“I have a plan!” Jacen announced, then flashed grin with too many teeth at his father. “But I need that face of yours.”

 

“Jacen. I don’t want to disappoint you, but other than my coloring, you have my face.” Luke deadpanned.

 

“Not that!” Jacen rolled his eyes. Well, that was a very Maraish thing to do. “What I need is your ‘Kriff you, I’m a Legend!’ face.”

 

Luke groaned as the younglings, even Ben, started laughing. Loudly. And protractedly.

 

“Your Uncle is definitely in trouble!”

 

***

Jacen’s speech was epic. Luke had no other word for it. His son talked about loyalty, history, family, heritage and legacy. Luke wasn’t sure if it was the Force guiding his son’s tongue or simply the talent that had been passed on by his Grandmother and Aunt.

 

The silence that followed his son’s words told its own tale.

 

All Luke had to do was to stand there and look stern and proud. He could do that! And he did that.

 

***

Jacen had saved Leia’s integrity, but the Senate was falling apart in front of them, while the enemy was preparing against the Republic. The older pair of twins shared a long, silent, pondering night huddled together.

 

The next day they started the Resistance.

 

***

Somehow, Rey still remained dormant.

 

***

Poe Dameron and Jaina Skywalker had gone on a mission to spy on the Starkiller Base. Luke had tried to warn the Senate, but the reality was that there was no real Senate anymore. However, the Resistance had listened to him, thus the Galaxy’s two best pilots had volunteered to go.

 

Ben hadn’t been thrilled about the idea, but even he had to admit that, while his mind had been touched by Snoke once, Jaina had no connection to the Dark Sider. Therefore, she couldn’t be detected as easily.

 

That had been a week ago.

 

Luke was sitting on the Temple’s step, contemplating the information on the datapad, which he held in his hand when suddenly cold sweat covered his skin and his stomach clenched. His eyes shot to the sky, but he couldn’t see anything.

 

_Luke!_

 

 _Mara! Jacen!_ he called through his bonds with his family and he too jumped to his feet.

 

_Get on the Sabre! Now! And bring the Ysalamirs with you!_

 

His wife and his son, the only two people on the planet with him, didn’t question his request. It took them ten minutes to get on the shuttle with the animals.

 

“Get off the planet!” he told his wife, who looked very pale. Her danger sense had always been better than his.

 

They barely survived.

 

The moon, their home, just exploded. Only Mara’s exceptional piloting skills saved them as the asteroid field, in which they suddenly found themselves, tried to destroy them.

 

Mara had switched off the engine of the shuttle and allowed it to drift passively between the debris. The fact that looking through the viewport, they couldn’t see the Starkiller Base told a lot about the real power of the superweapon.

 

“I can’t believe they did that.” Mara breathed.

 

He just hugged her against himself tightly, but briefly, then kissed the top of her head. He couldn’t believe it ... no… he actually could believe it. After all, in the other timeline, a whole star system, full of life, had been destroyed.

 

But he had to be the strong one this time.

 

He found his son sitting between the Ysalamirs. The animals anti-Force bubble covered the whole ship, but his son needed the extra safety of them. Or just the closeness of animals. His love for nature probably doubled his pain.

 

“I’m glad I couldn’t feel it happen,” Jacen said quietly. He patted one of the little creatures gently. He looked up at his father. “Is this why you asked us to bring them?”

 

Luke shook his head. “No. They hide our presence. It gives us a head start.”

 

Jacen nodded mutely. Luke sat down next to him and tried to not think about the fact, that his son was the same age, as he had been when the Battle of Endor had happened.

 

“We have to get out of here. If we plan to hide, then we have to avoid the disaster tourists.” Mara spoke quietly.

 

Luke nodded. This was new. He hadn’t got a plan for that. He felt kind of numb too.

 

“Do you have a destination?” Mara pressed. She had been a soldier. A trained one. She was the one who always stayed in the present. His perfect partner.

 

“Ben is on Takodana with Rey,” he said finally.

 

Mara nodded and turned back to the cockpit.

 

Jacen leaned against him and Luke wrapped his arms around the boy.

 

***

It took a week, but eventually, they arrived on Takodana. Jacen sent out a heavily encrypted message to Jaina’s X-wing, then they waited. When two X-wings and Ben’s shuttle touched the ground near the Sabre, the three of them went to greet the rest of their family.

 

They didn’t expect to be tackled to the ground by sobbing relatives. Luke blinked up at the sky with wonder.

 

“We thought you died!” he heard Rey’s muffled voice. She was pressed against his chest tightly.

 

“Oh, the Ysalamirs!” Mara’s voiced mixed with the chaos.

 

Luke gently pried his stepdaughter off himself and got to his feet.

 

“Everyone onto the Sabre, I think we all need to debrie---“ his eyes fell on a new face. There was a dark-skinned youth standing near them awkwardly. He was familiar but from where? The death of his other self fleshed though his inner eyes. When he had walked out of the base. This boy had been there. Their eyes had met for a second.

 

“This is Finn!” Poe spoke quickly. Come to think of it. The young pilot didn’t look so good. He looked pale and seemed to sway a few times. Luke narrowed his eyes at him. He liked Poe, despite the fact that Jaina had a huge crush on him. He didn’t take it well when the people he liked were hurt.

 

“Finn saved me!” Poe added. He squirmed under his stare.

 

Luke allowed his features to soften. He smiled at Finn. “My name is Luke Skywalker. Thank you!”

 

Finn’s eyes widened. “You are a Legend!”

 

Luke groaned. “I’m a human being, just like you. Now, everyone get on that shuttle!”

 

***

Poe and Jaina told them how Poe had managed to get captured. He was interrogated for the whereabouts of the Resistance's base. Finn had helped him to escape.

 

“I saw what happened to Yavin.” the former trooper told them quietly.

 

In the meantime, Jaina had contacted Ben and Rey, who all thought that Luke and the others were dead. They had planned a rescue mission. Only, Finn and Poe had beat them to it.

 

“There was a Force-sensitive on the Base,” Poe told Luke. “It was not Snoke. He called himself Kylo Ren.”

 

Luke felt his face twitch. He glanced at Ben. So, Snoke found another lost soul. Kriff him!

 

Their talk was interrupted by the scream of a TIE fighter.

 

“Gotta be kidding me!” Ben hissed.

 

“Get on your ship,” Luke ordered. Someone must have spotted the children and called the First Order. “We have to get to D’Qar!”

 

Ben, Rey, Finn and Jaina rushed out of the shuttle. Poe jumped to his feet too, but Luke grabbed his arm.

 

“Where do you think you are going?”

 

“To my ship? To shoot things?” Poe blinked.

 

“You are hurt. You stay here!” Luke ordered.

 

“But my ship…”

 

“I think I know how to pilot an X-wing!” Luke winked at him.

 

***

Poe’s ship was a newer model and he was more used to Artoo and not BB-8, but they managed. Together the four ships were indestructible.

 

***

Leia’s first reaction, when she saw him was to slap him. Hard. Then she hugged him tightly.

 

“You do this ever again and I murder you!” she mumbled into his chest.

 

“Sorry…”

 

He knew that after what had happened to Alderaan, this must have been unbearable for Leia. But he also knew, that he needed to go extreme lengths to protect the other planets, while the Starkiller is operational.

 

Fortunately, Finn and Poe had a plan.

 

***

He was one of the ground team with Han, Chewbacca, Ben, Rey and Finn. Jaina and Poe were waiting for them in their X-wings, with Mara and Jacen covering them in the Sabre. Leia overlooked the attack in their base.

 

Everything went mostly okay. Luke even could laugh about Han’s annoyance, Ben’s eye-rolls, Chewie’s complains and Finn’s innocent enthusiasm. Then they reached the Base's thermal oscillator.

 

They were in the middle of planting the explosives when the blaster shot came. It nicked Ben’s side and the young Jedi knight fell to his knees. Luke, who had been further away from them, but felt the pain through their bond, cursed softly and took off back to the group.

 

By the time he got back to the others, Finn and Rey had engaged into a battle with the Apprentice, the new Kylo Ren, while Han and Chewie tried to fend off the six Knights of Ren.

 

“Get out of here!” he ordered as he leaped in front of Chewie. He felt the stunned three sets of stares from his family.

 

“Luke! Six!” Han hissed at him.

 

He was aware of it, thank you!

 

“I got this!” he pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it. “Go!”

 

One thing he hadn’t even shared with Mara either. Not just his memories doubled, but his strength in the Force too. And he just allowed his true strength to show.

 

“Dad. Let’s go!” he heard Ben, but he couldn’t afford to look.

 

Three of the Knights staggered back. He reached out with the Force and touched their minds. They were scared. He amplified that emotion and urged them to flee. The three suddenly turned on their heels and ran.

 

“Cowards!” one of the others roared. He lunged forward with a vibrosword. One of the others had a spear and the third a Vibro-voulge. Luke had to use a great amount of the Force to successfully juggle the three of them. The frequent trainings with Ben, the Twins and Rey helped him out. He spun and blocked and jumped and slashed.

 

A hand fell to the ground.

 

He didn’t have time to think about it, the other two attacked. The loudest one was good and driven. So, he first aimed to deal with the other one. He danced around with them.

 

Rey’s sudden awakening in the Force nearly drew him to his knees.

 

He staggered, the vibrosword slashed the air in front of him. He jumped back and noticed that he was outside. Something occurred to him. He needed a little concentration, but suddenly the explosives they had planted went off. The power of the explosion threw one of the Knights against a tree, he fell and he stayed on the ground.

 

One more.

 

He felt Ben’s presence join Rey’s. The stubborn kid!

 

“I kill you!” the remaining Knight hissed at him.

 

“You try,” he replied calmly.

 

They really should get off that Base.

 

They fought and he noted that his opponent was good. In the end, Luke won, but not before receiving a nasty wound to his left side. This little victory was his opponents doom. It nearly broke his heart, when his lightsaber went through the Knight’s chest. He stayed long enough to crouch down next to the body and remove the mask. He took a long breath in and let it out slowly. In his other set of memories, this child had been his Padawan.

 

This felt like failure.

 

Then something came to his mind. Han was supposed to die here. So far…

 

He looked down at the dead child and thanked him.

 

He jumped to his feet and ran.

 

The Universe was cruel. _Where there is death, there will always be death._

 

***

He caught up with the others as they were boarding the Falcon in a hurry. The world was falling apart around them, after all. Chewie was carrying Finn in his arms. Ben was leaning against Han heavily, but he grinned at him when he joined them. Rey nearly tackled him.

 

“I won!” she breathed.

 

“You did!” he smiled back.

 

Han and Chewie piloted the ship out of danger, while Luke took care of the injured with Rey’s help. He ignored his own. It wasn’t that visible through his black jacket to his relief.

 

He felt it when the Base turned into a star. He sighed through the sound of victory. So many death.

 

He reached out to the Twins and Mara through the Force. The three of them answered him with love and happiness.

 

They were safe for now.

 

***

 

“We need a new base!” Ackbar said. They were in the middle of evacuating, people ran around them madly. Only them, the leaders stayed still.

 

Luke stared at the map of the Galaxy. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

 

“Artoo!” he called. The droid rolled to him immediately. “The map I gave you.”

 

Artoo’s projection filled the room. There was one planet on the map, that wasn’t on the other one. Luke pointed at it.

 

“Ahch-To. A long forgotten planet. The first Jedi’s Temple is on this one. It could be a good place to hide.” he explained.

 

Mara touched his arm. “Balloon,” she said when he looked at her. Jacen’s former pet. A porg. The evidence, that someone else had gone to that planet.

 

“We may need to check it out first,” he added.

 

Leia nodded to herself. The other admirals and generals were speaking enthusiastically around them.

 

“You said it belonged to the first Jedi, right?” his twin asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“Than the best ambassador we can send is a Jedi.” she looked straight into his eyes.

 

***

 

Before he departed with Mara, he checked on the Kids. Jaina was helping Poe with the arrangement of the starfighters. She made him promise that her parents would be safe. He made her promise that his children would be too. She was the oldest, she took her responsibilities seriously.

 

Jacen was coordinating the evacuation with Leia. He hugged them both tightly. Though, still minding his side.

 

Rey stayed with Ben and Finn in the medbay. Ben was getting better fast. Finn took his time in his Force induced coma. Luke had personally put him there.

 

“It’s much better than a bacta-tank,” he had told his stepdaughter, who nodded enthusiastically.

 

She was glowing in the Force like a sun. He hated to leave her alone like this, but he also knew that Ben was ready and up to the task of properly training her.

 

He ruffled her hair. “Listen to Ben, okay?”

 

“I will!” she promised.

 

He nearly got out of the medbay, when Han stepped in front of him.

 

“How is your side?” he asked.

 

How did he know? He only showed Mara, who grudgingly put a bacta-strap on it. But no one else should have known.

 

“I’m fine!” he said. He was. His pain subduing technic was still one of his best ones.

 

“You should put yourself on a healing-trance on your way there,” Han added. It was strange how through the years the former smuggler adapted to the ways of the Force.

 

“I’m really fine!” Luke grinned.

 

Han sighed dramatically, but he gave up eventually. He was allowed to go with a hug and a take care.

 

***

There was no sign of any intruder once they arrived. Mara took in the view with a bright glint in her eyes. Luke knew the whole island from the first rock to the last.

 

The Lanais accepted them in when they found out that they were Jedi. The little aliens also told them, that there was another island on the other side of the planet, which the Resistance could use as a base. They had only one condition, that this island would be undisturbed.

 

Luke gave his word.

 

***

 

The Battle of Crait happens sooner than it was supposed to be. Despite being so far away from them, he feels everything. Leia’s injury. Ben’s rage. Han’s fury. Jaina’s determination. Jacen’s frustration. Rey’s hope. Amilyn Holdo’s death.

 

But what he feels the most is Snoke’s death. Sudden and unreasonable. Not the doing of the Resistance.

 

So, his archenemy, (His second? Third?) is dead.

 

What he has to do is so clear, like the water under the cliff.

 

“No!” Mara rages when he turns towards her. There are actual tears in her eyes. They don’t fall yet, but they are there. “Forget it! I won’t allow it.”

 

“I have to,” he says gently.

 

She shakes her head stubbornly and stands her ground.

 

“I won’t let you!”

 

“It’s not about me anymore, Mara.” he smiles. “I lived long enough. I lived twice! I got a second chance and I righted as many wrongs as I could. This is the last thing I can give. And I will give it. For Jaina. For Jacen. For Rey and Ben. For the rest of them.”

 

“But I only lived with you once,” she whispers. She deflates in front of him and he has to hug her. He hugs her so tightly, that it’s a miracle they don’t just become one.

 

“Where there is death, there will always be death,” he tells her. “I can’t let it be anyone else.”

 

It’s his sacrifice to make.

 

***

 

He has a chance to say goodbye to Leia, Jaina and Jacen in his own way. It’s not an actual goodbye, they don’t say it aloud, but the look in his sister’s eyes, the tightness of Jaina’s hug and the way Jacen trembles show how much they can actually sense. 

 

He just glad that Han, Chewie, Ben and Rey are on the Falcon.

 

It’s easier that way. Ben could actually prevent this if he knew.

 

***

 

He toys with the Apprentice. He is a lot like Ben in the other timeline. Young, betrayed, confused and hurt beyond repair. Luke’s heart aches for him. But he knows well, there is no version of this life, where some lost child wouldn’t end up as murderous villain facing him.

 

Just like what he said before. This life is cruel.

 

“I’ll see you around, kid!” he promises, when he feels Ben’s and Rey’s joined powers clear the escape route for the remaining members of the Resistance. And he means his promise because if a Jedi dies, he/she just becomes stronger. He still plans to help this lost child one way or other.

 

Being a Force-ghost sounds fun after all.

 

***

 

He gasps for air, once he is back in his body. Mara cradles him tightly against her chest.

 

“Breath! Breath with me!” she instructs.

 

He feels salty raindrops fall on his face. Rain… Not tears… Mara doesn’t cry.

 

He smiles up at her. She is so beautiful, even though the lines deepened on her face and her hair is more white than red. Her green eyes are as bright as ever.

 

“I love you!” he whispers.

 

She smiles.

 

“I love you.”

 

She is more beautiful than the Twins Suns that decorate the sky.

 

He feels his family as they reach for him. Every member, even the non-Force-sensitives.

 

He feels peace.

 

He lets go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where there is death, there will always be death is taken from Man In Black 3. It's sadly not mine. Just like most of the characters :((


End file.
